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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLight Comm. 11/21/2022Mansfield Municipal Electric Department Minutes of Light Commissioners Meeting RECEIVED November 21, 2022 Present: Char J' ss Aptowittz ice (Chair Frank DelVecchio, Clerk Diana Bren, Commissioner Neil Rhein (virtual), and Lijo ftgl2neA leer Joseph Sollecito 1)The meeting wasUr tlDi Wansfield Town Hall Room 3AB and called to order at 5:30 PM followed by the Pledge of Mfegi�6W S E T T S A complete copy of the Board packet containing all documents that are referenced in the minutes is on file at the Mansfield Municipal Electric Department office. 2) Chair Aptowitz stated that the Commission would be entering into executive session for the following reasons: a) Review and possible approval of minutes of August 22, 2022 Executive Session where Exemption 3 was declared b) Pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 164, Section 47D and M.G.L. Ch. 30, Section 21, Exemption 2, to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiation with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel. c) Pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 164, Section 47D and M.G.L. Ch. 30, Section 21, Exemption 3, to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the public body and the chair so declares. Mr. Aptowitz also noted that since Commissioner Rhein was attending virtually, all votes would need a roll call. Motion: To enter into executive session and then return to open session: (DelVecchio/Bren) Roll call vote: Rhein — Yes, DelVecchio — Yes, Bren — Yes, Aptowitz — Yes. Passes 4/0. The Board returned to open session at 6:04pm. 4) Citizens comments — None 3) Motion: To review and approve Board Minutes of October 19, 2022 (DelVecchio/Bren) Roll call vote: Rhein — Yes, DelVecchio — Yes, Bren — Yes, Aptowitz — Yes. Passes 4/0. 5) General Manager's Report a) Review Equipment Storage Building Project with TBA Architects (Annika Nilsson Ripps and Justin Humphreys) TBA Architects have proposed six changes to the storage building project. Five of them are physical changes, while one is a time extension. Chairman Aptowitz questioned as to whether these changes were due to oversights and whether they should have been in the original design. Ms. Nilsson Ripps explained that some of the changes could not have been foreseen, such as having a heavier door that required a stronger motor. Additionally, they did not know how much contaminated soil needed to be removed, and that changed the design of the slab. Additionally, Manager Sollecito explained that TBA and MMED have negotiated the costs of these changes down from $47,000 to $31,000. Motion: To approve the six items on the change order submitted by TBA Architects. (DelVecchio/Bren) Roll call vote: Rhein — Yes, DelVecchio — Yes, Bren — Yes, Aptowitz — Yes. Passes 4/0. b) Review and possible vote to approve AFSCME Local 1702 MOA — Not discussed. c) Review and possible vote to approve General Manager's salary for FY23 — Not discussed. d) Review and possible vote to approve MMED's Disposal of Surplus Property Policy Manager Sollecito explained that there was an issue that prompted a need for a surplus property policy. He said first there was a need to determine what surplus property is and then how to dispose of it. He briefly described the four levels of surplus and the disposal options for each. He also pointed out that this policy does not include hazardous waste nor real estate. For any property to be given away, there is a waiver that would have to be signed before someone could take that item. Motion: To accept the policy for disposal of surplus property. (DelVecchio/Bren) Roll call vote: Rhein — Yes, DelVecchio — Yes, Bren — Yes, Aptowitz — Yes. Passes 4/0. e) Review MMED financials October net income is roughly the same as prior year. There has been an under collection of generation charges, which is why we raised the rates. We are making a dent in the overall loss from last year. A lot of things took place over the last twelve months. National Grid had a meter error and had to charge us another million dollars. MMWEC had to increase their fund to pay our bills. We had the funds to cover those losses, but now that needs to be replenished. Because of the expense of materials, in January or February the Distribution charge may have to be increased, but the power charges may decrease. We're not sure yet of the net effect. We are seeing the depreciation in the capital program, but we're not capturing enough. We may petition the DPU to increase the depreciation rate to 5%, but that will increase cash burn. Chairman Aptowitz mentioned that we have an under collection of generation charges, increase in receivables, and our depreciation fund is down two million dollars, so we must be spending money on capital projects. Manager Sollecito replied that it was the equipment storage building as well as a few other projects, such as the Jewell Street project. Chairman Aptowitz said he has not seen the cash position that low in a long time. I) Review and vote to approve Holiday Decoration policy The old policy was antiquated. This states that the Town Manager and the General Manager will meet to plan when decorations go up and come down. Motion: To accept the new holiday decoration policy. (Bren/DelVecchio) Roll call vote: Rhein — Yes, DelVecchio — Yes, Bren — Yes, Aptowitz — Yes. Passes 4/0. g) Discuss ISO -NE warning of potential emergency declaration Manager Sollecito explained that ISO New England has issued a position paper regarding issues of natural gas availability and fuel shortages. Approximately 60% of electricity in New England is fueled by natural gas, coming from only two supply sources. Our reliance on LNG from other countries in addition to the war in Ukraine is threatening supplies and driving up prices. ISO NE states that if there is a multi -day low temperature event, there may be an emergency situation. If such is the case, Manager Sollecito explained how MMED would be required to shed a certain percentage of load, which includes cycling through circuits and possibly instituting rolling brownouts. He also stated that the distributive generator could be used to possibly avoid some of this. Town Manager Kevin Dumas stated that he was glad for this discussion so that people could be educated about where these decisions are made. Chair Aptowitz stated that he wanted us to be transparent about the possibilities. Manager Sollecito noted that ISO NE does a great job of monitoring the grid, and therefore while these problems are possible, they are not probable. h) Mutual Aid Commendations Manager Sollecito shared two letters of commendation for sending Chris Trask and Mike Simonelli to provide mutual aid to Florida after Hurricane Ian. 6) Comments from the Commissioners Vice Chair DelVecchio inquired as to whether we should start looking into installing solar panels at the schools. Manager Sollecito replied that it is always a good idea to look into and revisit that issue. However, the costs will be different than for residential accounts. Developers generally look to make their money back in seven years. However, as our rates are so low this would not be as cost effective for a developer. 7) Any items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting — None 8) Adjournment Motion: To adjourn the meeting at 7:14pm. (DelVecchio/Bren) Roll call vote: Rhein — Yes, DelVecchio — Yes, Bren — Yes, Aptowitz — Yes. Passes 4/0. Respectfully Submitted: Kathy Codella Signature of Clerk Date of Approval